The first semester of my freshman year of college was a whole bunch of learning and experiencing. That’s just a whole lot of experience, and experience reminds me of a video I watched for my class. It is called the Last Lecture by Randy Pausch. In his lecture, he said, “experience is often the most valuable thing you have to offer.” I was able to learn from my first semester of frosh year and have a very enjoyable second semester. I’m hoping to keep using my experiences to improve and grow as a student and person.

As the spring semester started last January, I was pretty excited about coming to classes, to be honest. That's not the only reason I was also exhilarated to meet my friends again in the clubs and meetings. I remember, a friend of mine. She is a Rotarian, invited me to come to Rotary Dinner. I was so grateful to meet the Rotarians as well as the President of Tennessee Tech. When they asked me where I am from, I said Timor-Leste. My answer surprised them. That's how I got a chance to share about Timor and my previous experiences as a Rotaractor with the Cookeville Rotarians.

On February 14th, was the International Students Night at TTU's Basketball Game, in the Hooper Eblen Center. It was a special night for the students to be in the Skybox. My proposal for doing international student night in the skybox, fortunately, came true. I truly appreciate my friends Barbara and Jim Flemming for hosting this event. That was where all the international fellows introduced on the huge TV screen in the building. Holding and waving our flags to the camera with excitement and happiness. Oh! There was also complimentary snack foods and drinks provided to us. That night was our VIP night, and it was a great opportunity for me to represent Timor, as Tennessee Tech was proud to recognize its international students.

A few weeks ago, happened the annual International Friends Banquet for a nice evening of international food, fun, crafts, and music while celebrating TTU's international students and our host families. The majority of the food provided from different countries including Timor-Leste. Before it happened, I and Sofia my Timorese fellow decided to cook any Timorese food to bring. We listed down the ingredients and herbs that needed and drove with Indian friends to Walmart for shopping. The event commenced in the evening, so we chose to cook ere it began in that way the food remained fresh. We cooked two courses, one was Saseu, and the other was garlic pepper prawns. Following our cooks were ready, we then walked from the kitchen in my hall to the Roaden University Center building where the event took place. We placed the foods on the table after a while we were astonished because there was not any leftovers in the plates. At the end of the ceremony, we were just so happy to hear positive feedback from our friends and peers.